Staring out at the Water

[sndwurks]

Reaching up to scratch at the thick scar buried in his beard, Billy gives the question a solid minute of thought. He narrows his gaze on Alice, before giving a faint nod and a questioning look.

"You... understand what he is, right?" asks Billy calmly. "He is a spirit on par with the Penance, only not as... twisted. Which means that taking your spot as the alpha does not mean the same as what's happening with Sally, but it is closer to it than you might be comfortable with. You're moving your foot in the spirit world from off the firm land and sticking it into the water. Honestly, with what's been done to you, I do not know how that will end. But I'm pretty confident you'll be able to handle it.

"You're just talking about something that was old when my people first came to this land, and that was twenty thousand years ago, roughly."

[PoeticJustice]

"I understand what he is, at least as much as I can have understanding of such a thing. I understand working for powerful beings, and I understand that spirits and Fae are only a stones-throw from the Damned. But Spirits are concepts made manifest, and a spirit of the Hunt, one who culls the weak..." she stared out over the water. "We maybe have more in common ideology-wise than I'd like to admit. And you said he could get me information on Penance?"

She glanced over, the wind toying with her hair. There was no fear in the young woman's face. Why would there be? She was afraid of so little, and powerful entities that could kill her with a thought were not one of them.

"Is there a reason he can speak but the Penance can't? Or does the Penance just choose not to? Is there any truth to the rumor I heard that he was an ascended Skinwalker?" so many questions, so little time, one could see the pain drain out of her face and be replaced by wheels turning.

[sndwurks]

Billy met Alice's gaze evenly, slipping into the familiar role of the shaman advising the tribe. It did not matter that Alice was not Aquinaki. What mattered was that she was walking into danger with the spirit world, and needed to be armed to handle the situation.

"Firstly, do not believe that the Penance can't speak," says Billy simply. "It just doesn't in a way we can understand. Anurok is an old spirit, like the Penance, but he's mastered a trick only a few spirits have, and it only works in certain places and times. He's not an ascended skinwalker, but what he does is closer to that than not. Only, it's going the other way. He's a great spirit beast who slips into the skin of a man to acquire the gifts of humanity, like language, tool use, fire. The nature of this gift changes it with the time of day, which is why there is a point where he is between man and beast. That is when you see him with the symbols.

"Spirits are not concepts made manifest, though," Billy continues. "They are the stuff concepts come from. They were in the world before we were, and they are the source from which we draw many of our stories. Anurok does not have an ideology. He simply is. He is one of the First Children, born into this world to give it form. We are the Second Children, born into the world to give it meaning. And you have seen the Third Children, brought into this world from outside to give it change."